Entertainment

What Do Goo.gl and Fb.me Mean for Bit.ly?

While URL shortening has become an increasingly important business in the wake of Twitter and its 140-character revolution, we've never seen anything happen to the space that compares to what has happened today. First Facebook's fb.me was revealed to be in use for link sharing. It took almost no time at all for Google to follow up with the announcement of Goo.gl, which is now part of the Google Toolbar and Feedburner.

Think about it: Two of the world's most powerful tech companies have jumped onto the URL shortener bandwagon. While it's a major validation of the market potential for the space, it presents a unique challenge to market leader Bit.ly.

Are Google and Facebook out to take out Bit.ly? Can the number one most popular URL shortener hope to compete against the likes of these tech titans? The answer is yes, as long as Bit.ly retains its ace card.

What Kind of Damage Could Goo.gl and Fb.me Do?

It's tough to tell what goals Google and Facebook have with Goo.gl and Fb.me respectively. Currently, fb.me works with the sharing of links from Facebook pages, mobile interfaces and Facebook usernames, while Goo.gl is operating only on two of Google's many services.

Don't expect that to last, though — Google and Facebook are just beginning to play around with their URL shorteners. In time, they'll be integrated with more of their products. All link sharing links from Facebook pages to Twitter and elsewhere will eventually use fb.me, while Google could add it to Friend Connect or even make it a way to share search results.

The real damage to Bit.ly, though, could be if either company decides to make their shorteners standalone products. Both companies could provide some detailed analytics for links shared via their shorteners. Whether either company is thinking about this strategy though is anybody's guess.

Bit.ly's Ace-in-the-Hole

While Bit.ly should be concerned with today's developments, they don't have any reason to panic. Goo.gl and fb.me aren't standalone products and don't (yet) compete with Bit.ly's core business. It's also got a huge lead on analytics, brand recognition and integration with other apps.

However, it's Bit.ly's status as the default URL shortener of Twitter that has solidified the company's position as the leader in this space. It's hard to deny that Bit.ly hasn't benefited from Twitter's endorsement. Since May (when Twitter switched from TinyURL to Bit.ly), the shortener's growth has tripled:

There's no reason to think that Twitter would switch the default to either fb.me or Google. Facebook is a direct competitor, and it's tough to find enough rational reasons to switch to Goo.gl. If anything, it's more likely that Twitter acquires Bit.ly than drops it as the default.

There may two major new players in Bit.ly's backyard, but in the end it is still the king as long as Twitter has its back.

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